Investigation on Implementing Hydrogen Technology in Residential Sector

Rapid urbanization and globalization are causing a rise in the energy demand within the residential sector. Currently, majority of the energy demand for the residential sector being supplied from fossil fuels, these sources account for greenhouse gas emissions responsible for anthropogenic-driven climate change. About 85 % of the world’s energy demands are being met by non-renewable sources of energy. An immediate need to shift towards renewable energy sources to generate electricity is the need of the hour. These long-standing renewable energy sources including solar, hydropower, and wind energy have been crucial pillars of sustainable energy for years. However, as their implementation has matured, we are increasingly recognizing their limitations. Issues such as the scarcity of suitable locations and the significant carbon footprint associated with constructing renewable energy infrastructure are becoming more apparent. Hydrogen has been found to play a vital role as an energy carrier in framing the energy picture in the 21st century. Currently, about 1 % of the global energy demands are being met by hydrogen energy harnessed through renewable methods. Its low carbon emissions when compared to other methods, lower comparative production costs and high energy efficiency of 40–60 %, make it a suitable choice. Integrating hydrogen production systems with other renewable source of energy such as solar and wind energy have been discussed in this review in detail. With the concepts of green buildings or net zero energy buildings gaining attraction, integration of hydrogen-based systems within residential and office sectors through the use of devices such as micro–Combined Heat and Power devices (mCHP) have proven to be effective and efficient. These devices have been found to save the consumed energy by 22 % along with an effective reduction in carbon emissions of 18 % when used in residential sectors. Using the rejected energy from other processes, these mCHP devices can prove to be vital in meeting the energy demands of the residential sector. Through the support of government schemes, mCHP devices have been widely used in countries such as Japan and Finland, and have benefitted from the same. Hydrogen storage is critical for efficient operation of the integrated renewable systems as improper storage of the hydrogen produced could lead to human and environmental disasters. Using boron hydrides or ammonia (121 kg H2/m3 ), or through organic carriers, hydrogen can be stored safely, and easily regenerated without loss of material. A thorough comparison of all the renewable sources of energy that are used extensively is required to evaluate the merits of using hydrogen as an energy carrier which has been addressed in this review paper. The need to address the research gap in application of mCHP devices in the residential sector and the benefits they provide has been addressed in this review. With about 2500 GW of energy ready to be harnessed through the mCHP devices, globally, the potential of mCHP systems globally are discussed in detail in this paper. This review discusses challenges and solutions to hydrogen production, storage, and ways to implement hydrogen technology in the residential sector. This review allows researchers to build a renewable alternative with hydrogen as a clean energy vector for generating electricity in residential systems.